Lubricator for vehicle front wheel bearings



July 11, 1950 L. RUBERTINO EI'AL LUBRICATOR FOR VEHICLE FRONT WHEELBEARINGS Filed Nov. 6, l94'7 Lou/e Ruberfino F ran/r J. Novak IN VENTORS Patented July 11, 1950 v,LU'BRICA'IOR FOR VEHICLE FRONT vWHEELBEARINGS Louie Rubertino, South Euclid, and -Frank 'J. Nova-k,Cleveland, Ohio, assignors of one-third to'Angie Rubertino, SouthEuclid, Ohio Application'November 6, 1947, Serial No. 784,432

3 Claims.

This 1 invention relates to new and useful improvements and structuralrefinements in lubricators, and the principal object of the invention isto provide a device of the character herein de scribed, which may beattached to a front wheel spindle of automobiles and similar vehicles,so that lubricant may be supplied under pressure .to the wheelbearingssinthe hub carried b the spindle.

The conventionalmethod of lubricating these bearings generally involvesthe removal of the wheel from the hub and a subsequent removal of thehub from the spindle, whereupon grease is appliedrbyhand tothebearingsas well as to the spindle. This procedure not only requires aconsiderable amount of time and labor, but the result is not fullysatisfactory, inasmuch as the thick lubricant employed cannot beproperly applied to the bearing races, cage and rollers by mere handpressure.

It is, therefore, a further object of the instant invention to eliminatethese disadvantages by facilitating application of lubricant to thebearings without the necessity of removing the wheel and hub, and byapplying such lubricant under extreme pressure so that it may enter thecrevices and spaces between the bearing races, cage and rollers orballs, as the case may be.

Another object of the invention is to provide a lubricator which may bequickly and easily applied to and removed from the spindle assemblywhich is to be lubricated, and which may be readily operated or usedeven by unskilled persons.

An additional object of the invention is to provide a lubricator whichis simple in construction, which will readily lend itself to economicalmanufacture, and which is otherwise Well adapted for the purpose forwhich it is intended.

With the above more important objects in view, and such other objects asmay become apparent as this specification proceeds, the inventionconsists essentially of the arrangement and construction of parts asillustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which:

Figure 1 is a cross sectional view of a front wheel spindle assembly,showing the invention in situ thereon;

Figure 2 is a cross sectional view, taken substantially in the plane ofthe line 2-2 in Figure 1; and

Figure 3 is a perspective view of a retainin nut used in the invention.

Like characters of reference are employed to 2 designate like parts inthe specification and throughout the several views.

Referring now to the accompanying drawings in detail, the inventionconsists of a lubricator designated generally by the reference characterit, the same being adapted for use in association with a front wheelspindle assembly II which, as will be readily understood, includes theusual spindle l2 provided with a pair of bearings l3, M which, in turn,carry a rotatable wheel hub 15. The spindle l2 terminates in ascrew-threaded shank l5 adapted to receive a nut (not shown) whereby thehub is retained in position on the spindle.

The'lubricator it embodies in its construction a disk-like member orshield I! provided on one side with a central bore l8 and on itsrelatively opposite side with a relatively small counterbore or chamberI9 and a relatively large counterbore 2!], as is best shown in Figure 1.

The shield I? is removably retained in position on the spindle l2 inabutting relation with the hub l5, this being accomplished by providinga polygonal retaining nut 12!. The end portions of this nut terminate inadapters 2.2 and the ends are formed with concentric, screw-threadedbores 2%, one of which is left-handed, while the other is right-handed.

The nut 2! is applied to the spindle l2 by simply screw-threading theshank 16 into one of the bores (23, as) of the nut, while one of theadapters 22 extends into the bore l8 of the shield and the counterboredportion 20 of the shield is pressed against the marginal edge 25 of thehub l5 by one of two shoulders 25' provided on the nut 2|.

The counterbore 28 is, of course, of sufiicient size to accommodatewheel hubs of various types and diameters, and it should be explainedthat the purpose of the left and right-handed bores 23,2 3 is tofacilitate the use of the nuts on spindle shanks having eitherleft-handed or right-handed screw threads.

The disk I! is formed with a pair of diametrically opposed passages 26,2i, these communieating at their inner ends with the counterbore I9. Thepassage 26 is a lubricant passage and the outer end thereof is providedwith a so-called Zerk grease fitting or nipple, to which lubricants maybe supplied under extreme pressure in any desired manner. The lubricantthus supplied will find its way into the counterbore I9 through thepassage 25 and thence tothe interior of the bearing l3. Thereafter, asthe lubricant continues to be supplied, it will find its way along anannular recess 28 which usually exists be- 3 tween the spindle l2 andthe hub l5, and to the inner bearing [4.

This bearing is generally provided with an oil seal 29, so that theescape of lubricant through the bearing I4 is prevented.

While the lubricating operation is in progress, air is permitted toescape from the interior of the spindle assembly through theaforementioned passage 21 and through a further air passage 30 whichmerges into the passage 21 and communicates with the atmosphere,

A valve screw 3|, equipped with a needle 32, is provided in the shield11, the purpose of this arrangement being to facilitate the shutoff ofthe passage 21 to prevent the escape of greaseafter all air has beenforced out of the interior of the spindle assembly.

It will be apparent from the foregoing that the lubrication of thespindle assembly may be eflected without removing the wheel and the hubfrom the spindle, and the advantages of the invention are thus readilyappreciated.

Having described ,the invention, what is claimed as new is:

1. The combination of a spindle provided at one end thereofwith ascrew-threaded shank, a hub rotatable on said spindle and having abearing receiving recess, a bearing provided on said spindle and seatedin said recess, and a lubricator comprising a disc-shaped memberpositioned on said shank and having its inner face in abutment with saidhub, a keeper nut provided on said shank in abutment with the outer faceof said member for clamping the latter against the hub, the inner faceof said member being provided with a central lubricant chambercommunicating with said recess, said member being formed with'a radialbore extending from said chamber to the peripheral portion of themember, and a grease fitting provided on said member in the outer end ofsaid bore, whereby lubricant may be introduced through the bore intosaidchamber and said recess.

2. The device as defined in claim 1 wherein said member is provided witha central opening communicating with said recess, said nut including amain body portion, a cylindrical adapter at least at one end of saidbody portion, and an annular shoulder between said body portion and saidadapter, said adapter engaging said shank and extending into saidopening, and said shoulder abutting the outer face of said member.

3. The device as defined in claim 1 wherein said member is provided withan air outlet passage extending from said'chamber to the peripheralportion of the member and communicating with the atmosphere, and ashut-off valve provided in said passage.

LOUIE RUBERTIINO. FRANK J. NOVAK.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record file of thispatent:

- UNITED STATES PATENTS in the

